Advertising-cabinet.



No. 802,852. PATENTED OUT. 1'7, 1905. U. H. COLLINS & F. E. WALTER,

ADVERTISING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 1.

N'm 802,352. PATENTED OUT. 1'7, 1905.

G. H. COLLINS & F. E. WALTER.

ADVERTISING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED 3111.29. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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STATES PATENT OFFTCE.

CHARLES H. COLLIN S AND FRANKLIN E. WALTER, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

ADVEFlTllSlNG-CABlNIET.

Patented Oct. 17, 1905.

Application filed n ary 29, 1904. Crrial No. 191,233-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES H. COLLINS and FRANKLIN E. WALTER, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of the city and county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ad vertisingfiabinets, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to devices for displaying notices or advertisements to the public, such notices or advertisements being in the form of cards adapted to be brought into view one after another, the apparatus shown being especially adapted for use in vaudeville performances and concerts for indicating to the audience the number, name, and other data regarding the next part on the program.

The invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combination and arrangements of parts, all as will be now described, and pointed out particularly in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet of a display apparatus having its front door or window partially open. Fig. 2 is a per spective view of one form of card supporting and operating mechanism removed from the cabinet. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a different form of card supporting and operating mechanism. Fig. at is a detail of one of the card-separating fingers of preferred form. Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the cabinet and mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate like parts.

While the cabinet in which the display-cards and operating mechanism are contained may be of any usual or preferred form or style and ornamented to accord with its surroundings, it is preferably, as shown, a simple cabinet P of a height somewhat more than twice the height of the cards containing the advertisements, notices, &c. The cabinet is of the height mentioned in order that the cards may stand on edge and in a vertical or inclined position in two banks one above the other, the operating mechanism being designed to feed the cards for transfer from the upper to the lower part of the cabinet in succession and to bring the cards into position for being displayed immediately prior to the transfer. To

permit of the proper display of the cards 1) E F, Fig. 2, and Z, Fig. 3, the front of the cabinet is provided with a sight-opening or window 0, located above the level of the cardsupporting means, which may be glazed, if desired, and this opening is preferably formed in a door N, which may be opened to giveaccess to the interior of the cabinet-as, for instance, when the cards are to be removed by hand from the bottom of the cabinet and positioned in the operating mechanism for subsequent display and transfer. The cards are supported in the upper part of the cabinet by horizontal shelf-like supporting means, such as indicated at G, forming, in effect, ways along which the cards are pushed by the operating mechanism successively into display position. The support does not extend entirely to the front wall of the cabinet, but terminates a suflicient distance from the front wall to allow the cards to drop through the opening so formed into the lower part of the cabinet as they are moved beyond the edge of the support, as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

It is of prime importance in handling cards in the manner stated that they shall be spaced apart at the lower edges sufliciently far to insure their ready separation and the transferof each card by itself. At the same time the construction of the parts must be such that the cards may be easily and quickly arranged or rearranged in the cabinet should occasion require. With a view to accomplishing these objects an operating mechanism is. provided which embodies conveyers at each side of the cabinet having connecting driving mechanism and inwardly-projecting pins, between which the cards are placed and by which they are caused to travel forward over the support to the points of display and transfer. In the form of operating mechanism shown in Fig. 3 the eonveyers are in the form of sprocket-chains T, passing around sprocketwheels at on shafts V, one of which may be a drive-shaft and have a crank-handle or other suitable well-known means for rotating the same. Projecting inwardly, preferably from alternate links in the chain, are fingers S, which may, if desired, be of triangular form "to prevent the cards from catching thereon when dropped from the support, as one corner will be uppermost when the links move toward the rear and the flat side s uppermost when the links move toward the'front. In

Fig. 2 the conveyers are formed by rack-bars A, having inwardly-projecting pins G and connected by gears B and shaft 5, to which the crank H or other driver may be applied, as before described. The rack-bars are guided in the cabinet and may work through openings S in the front wall of the cabinet. The shaft may, if so desired, be provided with a ratchet-wheel L for the engagement of a pawl J on a lever K, or any simple ratchet-wheel and pawl arrangement may be provided to prevent retrograde movement.

In operation the cards are placed on the support in the spaces between the fingers of the conveyers, and their upper ends may be held forward by a presser V, after which movement of the conveyers will cause the cards to travel forward, each card first appearing behind the sight-opening and then moving off of the support and dropping down into the lower part of the cabinet. As the cards drop into the lower part of the cabinet they will naturally fall back one over the other, and to insure this result the cabinet may have a sloping bottom or rear wall, as indicated at T in Fig. 1, against which the lower edge of the first card will strike and be deflected toward the front, thereby causing its upper edge to fall backwardly out of any position where it might interfere with the transfer of succeeding cards. Subsequent cards will strike the cards previously dropped and will be similarly deflected.

With the arrangement described there is no danger of the cards becoming wedged, since each is separated from the other at the bot tom and each is moved positively along the support. Ample room is provided for allowing the cards to fall from the support without interfering with each other. The mechanism is such that it will handle successfully cards that are warped 0r bent and is so simple in construction and operation that theater attendants or other unskilled labor may be employed to both operate the apparatus and replace the cards after having been displayed.

\Vhat we claim as new is- 1. In a display apparatus such as described, the combination with a cabinet having a fixed card-supporting means located intermediate the top and bottom parts of the cabinet with a space. forward of said support for the transfer of cards from above to below the support and a sight-opening above the said card-supporting means, of conveyers at each side of the cabinet extending above the level of the support and at each side of the path traversed by the cards, a series of inwardly-projecting fingers on the conveyers adapted to receive the lower edges of the cards between them, and driving connections for imparting unitary movement to the conveyers; substantially as described.

2. The combination with a display-cabinet having substantially horizontal card-supports dividing the cabinet into upper and lower compartments and having a space at the front of said supports for the transfer of cards from one compartment to the other and a sightopening in the front wall of the cabinet above the supports, of conveyers at each side of the cabinet above the support inwardly-projecting fingers on said conveyers and a cross-shaft extending from side to side of the cabinet for imparting unitary movement to the conveyers; substantially as described.

Signed at Albany, New York, this 19th day of January, 1904. I

CHARLES H. COLLINS. FRANKLIN E. \VALTER.

l/Vitnesses:

FREDERICK WV. CAMERON, Lo'r'rm PRIOR. 

